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Their presence reinforced her desire to avoid the Coven, rather than enticed her to join them.

Alessandro was right. She couldn’t see her family letting her go. Even if she tried to walk away, she was sure they’d all follow and tackle her to the ground. Who was she to paint their love as superficial when they’d proven over a lifetime that they could and would go above and beyond to protect her?

Rowan took in the moment of feeling his magic brush against her face before she found her resolve once more. “Can you teach me?”

“Yes.” The pressure of his body abandoned her, leaving her cold. “First step is getting your ass back in that room and trying again.”

She squared her shoulders. “Okay.”

He stood and held his hand out again. This time, she took it.

When she was back on her feet, his hand was at the small of her back, pulling her body flush against his and his soft, warm lips were on hers, eager and so hungry it stole all of her strength.

Desire hooded his eyes when he pulled back. There was a moment where she thought she saw something more of Alessandro than he intended for her to see. Black scales ran in streaks alongside his jaw, two great horns erupted from his forehead and his eyes were slit reptilian. Underneath the scales, she could almost see light dancing in a lazy wave.

She saw it only for a second before suddenly he wasn’t with her anymore. Moisture tracked down her cheeks and when she pulled her fingers away from touching them, she saw blood. She’d had previous encounters with demigods. They could travel all over their realm unlike their full-fledged counterparts, but never had they made her bleed just by looking at them, and he’d been in the astral plane to boot.

It was a concrete fact for her then. Nothing she had run into before had been as lethal as the Dragon King.

Chapter 15

Alessandro was seething. Why had he done that? Blood had trickled down her cheeks, but more concerning was the way she looked at him, as if she’d underestimated just who she was dealing with. It teetered on the edge of fear. He’d seen the look plenty of times before, but this was the first time that it made nausea instantly settle in his stomach. He wished he had more time to wipe it away, or question her about it, but there was an urgent knock on his door.

“Come in.” He swung his legs over the side of his bed. His voice was gruff, and he didn’t know if that was because of its lack of use, or his irritation.

Aqua stepped in, her long white nightgown trailing behind her. Ambrosia-laced wine he could smell even with her distance from him had her cheeks flushed. Her electric hair was down and it swept over her shoulders. The sweet scent of her arousal flowed into the room with her.

As one of his Elemental Generals, Aqua was one of the few dragons that he swore to keep out of his bed, so her demeanor made his entire body go rigid.

“My King, I’ve had a dream.” Her voice trembled as she edged closer.

Growing hyper aware of his bare chest, the Dragon King created a distance from the bed and led the woman towards a small sitting area, making sure he took the armchair and she the love seat.

He almost didn’t want to ask, but he had to rectify this situation if it was what he thought it might be. “What kind of dream?”

Her hazy eyes locked on him. “I believe,” her voice was strained. “It was a vision of the past. Of you and the elf woman.”

Alessandro raised an eyebrow. Aqua cast her eyes away and took a deep breath.

“You were engaging in coitus.”

Well, fuck.

Alessandro winced, recalling the lack of tenderness or shame in the shared moments with Rowan. If Aqua had seen it, it wasn’ta surprise she had been so heavily aroused, nor that she was drinking in excess.

It was a rare exercise to rut outside of the Thunder. The privacy of being a dragon made it favorable to be with another dragon who could be privy to all aspects of their lifestyle. Outsiders weren’t as disciplined in keeping secrets.

Expectations for Alessandro demanded he keep his interests in the Thunder as he searched for his Dragon Queen. The idea of an outsider becoming his partner, even as a short fling, was outrageous.

“The way you looked at her.” Aqua shot him an accusing look. “Your eyes were silver. Is she to be our Queen?”

Alessandro opened his mouth to deny the question, but her words seated themselves in his head and he leaned back. “Are you sure?” He asked. “Perhaps it was a trick of the light. Maybe an odd angle.”

Aqua let out a disbelieving breath and her hand gripped the fabric of the nightgown on her thighs. “Alessandro, you and I know my visions are clear. Your eyes turned silver. You were nibbling all over her. I saw you kiss her.”

He wondered how many women had to comment on his lack of kissing for it to be common knowledge that he rarely engaged in it. He could fuck all day and night, but kissing like he had enjoyed with Rowan was rare for him to indulge. Somehow it had become a marker that he was serious about courting someone and so he withheld it until he was sure he wanted to proceed.

He hadn’t thought about the kisses. They had seemed natural with her, perhaps an unconscious realization that she didn’t know of his aversion to the act. Anytime the scenes oftheir coupling played in his mind, they focused on her facial expressions during certain moments. How she had sunk to her knees and opened her mouth wide for him, or how when he had awoken the next morning it was to find her curled tightly around him, peace relaxing soft flushed face. It had half broken his will to leave without waking her up.